An unforeseen scenario
by Athos
Summary: The third day of the battle with the Fifteenth Angel arrives.
1. Prologue

**_Disclaimer:_** Neon Genesis Evangelion and/or its associated characters are property of Gainax Studios, Japan. We recognize this copyright, and, under the current laws of the Kingdom of Spain referring to Intellectual Property (Royal Decret 1/1996, April 12th), use them without permission for non-profit activities. In case that Gainax Studios ask it, this story would be removed from the web. Thank you. Northern Raven Studios presents: **An unforeseen scenario**_ An Evangelion Fanfiction by Athos **PROLOGUE**_

"I am Shinji Ikari!" he yelled. "The pilot of the Evangelion unit one!" Gendo smirked. This time, the boy was really angry; he was shivering with rage. _'Poor Angel,' _ he thought, grinning, although Shinji wasn't able to see it. He nodded. All was going according to the scenario. Finally the Eva-01 would be in the next step of its evolution, leaving it ready to accomplish its part of the plan. "Very soon, Yui. Only a few months more," he muttered while he ran towards the Command Center. He could see Shinji's arrival, charging against the Angel and shouting, this time not in pain, but in extreme wrath. The sudden arrival of the Eva-01 surprised and overran the Angel, and the fourteenth God's avenger couldn't resist the assault and fell against a wall, breaking it and leaving free access to the Launching Pods. Shinji kicked the Angel again, pushing it to the elevators. _'Good idea,' _ thought Gendo, strangely proud of his son. But the Angel wouldn't let him to do it without make more noise. It extended its arms, two plain and edged stripes, and launched it against the purple android, cutting the left arm of the EVA01. Notwithstanding, Shinji didn't let that the sudden pain lightened the onslaught, and he followed to push it towards the elevator. The time seemed to pass much more slowly for Gendo when he saw the purple piece of metal fall over him. He felt the warm red blood of the Evangelion whipping him, and for the first time he become aware of another possibility in the scenario. His own death. "Inconceivable," he muttered, while all the world became black around him. 

**_+++ Author's Notes _**"Inconceivable!" is the war cry of Vizzini, from 'The princess bride'. A little tribute to one of my favourite film, I guess. This was too much short to deserve a preread draft, so all the mistakes are only mine. Don't try to claim merit for them! As always, feedback is welcome at chobits@hotpop.com See you! **Athos **


	2. Choices

_

The sand was warm under his bare feet. Gendo Ikari frowned. He was vaguely aware that he should have resulted injured in the last battle; he was expecting to awake in the infirmary... or not to awake, falling forever in a dreamless sleep. But certainly he didn't expect to awake in a beach. And even less in such a strange beach, with white and warm sand and dark water under a purple sky. He got up, letting the sand fall between his fingers; dry and warm, it shone with a smooth bright, illuminating the beach with an eerie light. He was confused, and he didn't like it; he wasn't used to the feeling. Gendo looked at the water. The water... was calling him, he thought, with an alluring voice. He shook his head, trying to convince himself that that was merely the noise of waves. But he knew then that it wasn't; the dark ocean was whispering him to submerge in the gloomy waters. Without understand why, he knew then that he should avoid it. Gendo deviated his gaze from the water, and looked at the beach. It seemed endless, the sand filling everything in three directions. He frowned when he realized that there was a soft bright, next to the water, but far in the distance where the sand, the water and the sky met. The lone man started to walk following the coastline. *** **CHAPTER 1: CHOICES**

_ Fuyutsuki didn't notice Ritsuko when she entered the office. He was sat down where Gendo used to be, and his gaze was lost in the Tree of Life drawn in the ceiling. Ritsuko had to cough hard until the old man heard her. "Ah, Doctor Akagi..." he muttered absently. "What do you want?" "I have Commander Ikari's medical report, sir." "It was about time," replied Fuyutsuki sarcastically. Ritsuko shrugged. "Ah..." she said, looking at her papers, "let's see... Ah, it's here. I read.... 'The subject has suffered heavy injuries that came from the impact of several fragments of shrapnel all over the body, including three broken ribs, fractures in the left leg and the right arm, injuries in the left side -which forced to the extraction of the spleen-, ocular damage, and a cranial fracture. Notwithstanding, in a few weeks all of them should be healed. The subject seems to have suffered heavy brain damage as shown by the scanner, and he's currently in a deep coma. We cannot foreseen any changes in this condition.' And that's all, I'm afraid." "I see. A whole month to say that they don't know when he could awake, do they?" "No, they don't," nodded Ritsuko, ignoring Fuyutsuki's sarcasm._ 'I need holidays,'_ she thought. _'Badly.'_ The last month had been a nightmare for the head scientist of Nerv. Planning Shinji's rescue had resulted a really hard task. And the fact she didn't know how the boy had come back didn't help her to relax. "How is Shinji?" Fuyutsuki asked. "Well. I don't expect any problems," she shrugged again. "He finally got up today, and he's going to perform a sync test this afternoon." "Isn't it a bit early?" he pointed. "We need to put in service the Eva-01 as soon as possible, so we need new synchronization records," replied Ritsuko. "Besides, Shinji needs to return to active service. Routine will help him to recover sooner." Fuyutsuki groaned vaguely, not really listening to her. "So, you're now officially in charge, aren't you, sir?" asked Ritsuko. Fuyutsuki seemed to be the most logical choice for the charge. He had been always Gendo's shadow. She wondered often why the old man was there, always obeying orders, always being merely a executor of Gendo's will. Fuyutsuki nodded tiredly. "Yes, I've been officially appointed Nerv's Commander this morning." "Is there any change in the schedule, Commander?" He frowned deeply, looking at the blonde woman. He didn't like how 'Commander' sounded. "No... by the moment. Dismissed, Doctor Akagi." He got up and looked at the tree of life drawn in the ceiling. "By the moment," he muttered while the scientist walked out of the office. Shaking his head, he followed her and went out, picking an elevator. While the floor numbers increased, he frowned again, remembering the meeting with Seele. _"Ikari failed us. I expect you to prepare our scenario, Commander Fuyutsuki,"_ Keel had said. _"Yes, sir." "Well. Don't commit the same mistakes than Ikari. And don't think we're not going to watch over you,"_ he had said, disappearing from the meeting room. "Ikari, Ikari... Why had you to leave all the responsibility over me?" he sighed. "And now, I have in my hands everything. Exactly what I didn't want." 

***

Asuka heard how Shinji was walking out of his changing room and heading for the sync room. She turned then to Rei. The blue haired girl had just arrived, and she was still putting on her white plug suit. "Look at this," she said ironically, "Wondergirl arriving late." "It's not late," said Rei softly. "The test is scheduled in ten minutes." "You know what I mean," Asuka laughed. "It's the first time I'm dressed before you were. Wait, this is not the first time. The last month you've arrived just on time twice," she pointed, trying to get a reaction from her. And failing. Rei didn't answer anything. She simply stared at Asuka, looking at the redhead with her blood-red eyes. Asuka tried a bit harder. "I bet you were watching over your beloved Commander," said Asuka, although she knew it wasn't true -she had asked Maya about it-. It was strange; she'd had thought that Rei would show interest for the Commander's condition, but she hadn't gone to see him. "No," replied Rei finishing to put on her suit. Pressing the button on her wrist, she felt how the suit took the shape of her body. Asuka opened the door of the room and decided to make the last attempt to get any reaction from the albino girl. She needed to erase that picture of a broken doll from the back of her mind. Each time she saw the emotionless face of Rei, she saw it -she heard again _'Die with me, Asuka,'_ softly whispered in her ears-. And she hated that. "Then were you nursing Shinji, like a good Wondergirl?" She sighed relieved when she saw Rei look slightly uneasy. That would have to be enough, for the moment. She knew it already, of course. Wondergirl was always watching over Shinji only because the Commander ordered her to did so, she thought, but it was nice to see her embarrassed. Asuka laughed while she walked out of the dressing room and headed for the Sync Lab. Something tried to jump into her conscious mind, but the redhead couldn't put a finger on it. She shook her head. "Asuka, focus," she muttered. 

***

Shinji was still trying to forget the taste of the LCL when he found himself submerged in it. "Smell like blood," he complained, trying to keep himself relaxed. He couldn't. Ritsuko had just told him about his father's injuries. A part of him was mischievously happy; the old bastard had finally got what he deserved. The another part, the part that usually said 'I'm sorry' for everything, the part that Asuka used to hate, was ranting and claiming that it had been his fault... but not very loud. He was vaguely ashamed for not feel more sorrow -_'After all, he was... he is my father,'_ he thought-. But then he remembered. Himself. With four years, crying alone in his uncle's door because his father had abandoned him. Rei. The first time he saw her, crying in pain because his father had ordered her to pilot the Evangelion. Touji. Almost dead when he was recovered from the Eva-04. Asuka. The head of her Evangelion falling in front of him. More images. Pain and suffering in the ones he cared for. And only a responsible. _'He deserved this,'_ he thought bitterly. _'At least he cannot hurt anybody else ever.'_ His train of thoughts went broken when Ritsuko ordered him to start the test. Shinji closed his eyes and let the simulation take over his mind. The odd sensation of familiarity that he had each time he was piloting the Evangelion returned... Half an hour later the test ended. Tired, Shinji yawned inside the plug, and instantly, he regreted it, feeling again the taste of blood in his mouth. Shaking his head, he looked down searching for the 'drain&eject' button. He couldn't help but laugh, because the draining system sounded exactly like a giant... 'I should go to see him,' he thought. He remembered then one of the last things that his father had said to him. "I didn't want to see you any more," he had said, meaning each word. "Well, then," muttered Shinji while he walked out of the Geofront, "you won't see me." 

***

It was dark in the cages of the Evangelion. The repairing works in the plate armour of the Eva-01 had finished several days ago, so now the orange pool where it rested was silent and empty. Empty, except for the lone figure of Kouzo Fuyutsuki. The brand new Commander of NERV was engaged in a staring contest with the deadliest combat machine ever constructed by man's hand. He didn't do anything but stare for a long time. Finally, who was now one of the more powerful men of the planet seemed to have taken a decision, because he turned back to leave. He stopped at the door, though, and he looked again at the frozen Evangelion. "Is this the correct choice, Yui? I'd wish I know. After all this time, after all the scenarios and the schedules, now... the decision is mine," he whispered. "I have the God's power in my old hands. I could... bring you back for me, or for them, or extinct the human race, or merge them all, or... I know what I'd want to do, but what should I do?" he asked to the air. He didn't get a response. Nor he was waiting for any. The decision was taken, and the new schedule soon will be established. The old man looked at the Nerv logo in the wall; he had chosen it, five years ago; but it seemed a whole lifetime, now. He left the room, closing the door behind him. _"God's in his heaven. All's right with the world."_ Soon Browning's words would probe to be right... or awfully wrong. And it was his choice. 

**_+++ Author's Notes_** First of all, many, many thanks to Lynx for help me with this fic. I know that this is still too much short, but I cannot help it. Any comment will be more than welcome at chobits@hotpop.com, and I'm usually hanging around the forum of darkscribes.org, if you want to discuss something. See you! **Athos **


	3. Meetings

_ Gendo had been wandering along the beach for hours, now, but he wasn't tired. He didn't feel hungry or thirsty, either. He didn't feel anything, except a vague need to reach the source of the smooth light that he saw in the horizon. With the passage of time, any other purpose or desires had become strange to him, and the memories of things that had seemed very important in his life were now a pale shadow. The Human Complementation Plan, the Third Impact, Seele and Nerv. He remembered all of them now with only a vague interest, the reasons of their importance forgotten. The eerie whisper that came from the dark ocean wasn't longer a bother. He had got used to it some time ago, and now it was something natural to him. Although he had been walking for what seemed hours, a night of black velvet, only broken by the warm bright of the sand, was still surrounding him, and Gendo was starting to think that a never ending night wouldn't be very strange for an endless beach. The light seemed to come from a small dune of sand that could be seen, far in the distance. It was the only discordance that Gendo could see until the sand melted with the sky. He smiled, feeling a strange joy in his heart. "I've found her," said a voice. "She was forgotten and lost till the Earth fades away, but I have found her." He blinked surprised when he realized that the voice was his own. He didn't know why he had said that; the words had come to his mouth unwillingly, as had done the smile. The urge to reach the source of light that he was feeling suddenly grew, becoming an irresistible force. He couldn't help but head to the dune, wondering what was hidden behind the sand's wall, and why he felt the need to reach it. Finally he arrived. The dune was the source of the light itself. It seemed that its sand shone brighter than the rest of the ground, but when Gendo picked a handful of it, its bright quickly faded away, becoming as softer as the another kind was. He thought about climbing up to the dune and try to see something, but somehow he knew that the only thing that he would be able to see from there would be more and more sand and dark water. He chose to border the dune, instead. What he saw left him confused like he never had been before. In the another side of the sandy formation there was a rather old wooden house, partially buried within the sand that fell from the dune. The roof was black, covered with slate's stones. Except for one, which was white. Gendo recognized the house. It was the house of the old grandfather Rokubungi in a beach of Okinawa, where Gendo had passed his summers long time ago, playing under the blue sky when he was still a child. But the house was now submerged below the Pacific Ocean, as many other places after Second Impact. It couldn't be here, in this place -whatever it were-, he thought. In front of the house, sat down in a blanket and wearing a white sundress, there was a woman with short and unruly brown hair. Gendo stared at her for several minutes, without daring to say anything. Humming softly, she had her eyes closed while a blow of wind was stirring her hair. Gendo also recognized her. "Yui," he said, still staring at her. She opened her green eyes and looked at him. She waved from the blanket over the sand, and Gendo walked slowly till there. When he was arriving, she got up, jumping over her bare feet, and she smiled warmly at him. "Yui?" "What do you think?" she asked back, approaching him. "I... I don't know." "Why?" she asked, looking at him with her deep green eyes. "I..." whispered Gendo, hugging her suddenly. "I've missed you, Yui." When Gendo felt her hands on his back, returning the embrace, his knees went weak. Both sat down on the blanket and he held her hand; Gendo closed his eyes. "What place is this?" he asked, while she looked curiously at his hand. Yui left his hand and got up. She looked at the horizon. "A house," she said, "in a beach." "But..." "What?" she asked again. "I don't know how did I arrived here." "But you're here. Why do you want to know it?" Gendo didn't reply. Yui was humming again, looking at the sea; now he recognized the song. It was the lullaby that she used to sing to Shinji when he couldn't sleep. He remembered the lyrics; something about the clouds, the rain and the sky, and being happy under them. It brought him memories of what life had been when Yui was alive, of how delightful had been every single second at her side. It hurt. "I'm sorry, Yui," he muttered. "Of what?" replied Yui, turning back and staring again at him. "I've failed you." "Why?" "I couldn't bring you back. And now I'm..." "What?" asked Yui nonchalantly, dancing over the sand the song she was humming. "Dead." "Do you think so?" "Yes," replied Gendo, looking down. "What else could be this?" Yui smiled sweetly, but she didn't reply. *** **CHAPTER 2: MEETINGS**_

The Geofront, buried beneath the often rebuilt city of New Tokyo 3, was a really peaceful place, filled with trees and green fields. Although its existence wasn't a secret -such a compound was impossible to hide-, few people had been able to throw a gaze to the subterranean colony. Rei Ayanami was one of the few that could. The young bluehaired girl was staring at the small lake inside the Geofront. The strange soft light that illuminated the big cavern, coming from all directions and from no one of them, gave to her red eyes an unusual bright while she stood near the water. Unaware to her, Shinji was staring at her in turn. He was uneasy. Rei had asked him to meet her there, but he didn't dare to disturb her. He always had felt that Rei thought that he was stupid. At least, Asuka claimed that he was a big one, leaving no place to doubts. With Rei he never could be sure of anything. While he was wondering what he should do, Rei finally became aware of his presence. She turned back and looked at him. "Ikari," she said finally. "Ah, Ayanami... Do you want to see me?" Shinji replied. She didn't answer, and she kept staring at Shinji for some time more so intensely that Shinji felt how he blushed. "Why are you uneasy, Ikari?" That made Shinji felt more uneasy, of course. He gulped. "I... I'm not uneasy," he lied. "You're blushing," stated Rei, approaching him slowly. Shinji went redder as Rei studied him from near. "Why, Ikari? It's because of me?" "No!" babbled Shinji nervously. "It's only... I cannot help it." "I see." Shinji tried then to carry the conversation to a safer ground. "What do you want to talk me about, Ayanami?" he asked. "I need to understand something," she replied vaguely. "Why do you pilot?" "Is that what you need to understand?" replied Shinji, confused. Rei turned back and let her gaze wander across the waters in front of them. A warship was sailing slowly across the lake, making small waves that shone under the light of the Geofront. Somebody could have described the scene as 'romantic', with both Children alone in the side of a small lake watching a sundown, but she wasn't aware of that. "No," she replied. "Then what?" asked an intrigued Shinji. "I cannot tell you," Rei sighed, looking again straight at Shinji's eyes. "Why do you pilot?" "I don't know," Shinji muttered. "The first time, because you were hurt... And later.... But I never have thought about it. I don't know. Maybe to get a praise from my father, maybe to protect all of you... maybe..." Rei nodded slowly, pondering his words. "Thank you, Ikari," she said. "I must go." Shinji watched how Rei walked into the headquarters, leaving him with more questions than when he had gone to see her. Helping Rei to understand something was a easy way to make him understand less things. He had thought that the albino girl would want to talk about the Commander -although it was a theme that Shinji preferred to avoid, he knew that Rei was closer to his father than he had been in all his life-, but she didn't seem to be affected by Gendo's accident. If something, she had seemed slightly annoyed by the bothers of the change in the command's chain. Shinji thought before that he understood Rei. Now he wondered if he had really known her to the lesser extent. 

***

In the eternal summer that had become the days after Second Impact the noise of cicadas could be hear wherever a small field be near. The old condominium was in the outskirts of the city, where the green fields started, but there the noise of the construction didn't let Rei hear the song of the summer insects. And it was ruining Rei's viola solo. She didn't mind, since she hadn't audience, and she could hear perfectly the music that came from the five strings. She liked to feel the soft touch of the wooden instrument under her fingers. Rei wasn't a complicated person: she liked water, blue color and the sound of her viola; she disliked red color and the taste of meat. And that was almost all. The music kept resounding for a few seconds when she ceased to play. Neatly, she guarded the viola in its case. It was the only thing in her apartment that she kept with care. _'That's not true,'_ she thought. _'There are other things.'_ The glasses of the Commander, for once. She had kept them carefully for a long time, now. She remembered how angry she had been when she had seen the young Ikari touching them, but she couldn't understand now why she had felt like that, then. Feeling tired, she undressed slowly under the soft light of the moon that came from the window, letting absently her clothes fall silently to the wooden ground. She picked up a shirt from the dresser. Unlike the rest of her clothes, the shirt was neatly folded. She put on it, revealing clearly that the shirt wasn't of her size -it fell loosely over her shoulders, and it ended below her hip-. Rei lay down on the unruly bed and she buried her face between her arms. Since the arrival of the Angels, the Commander had been more distant, always reminding her what was her true purpose, and a cold loneliness had been growing in the bluehaired girl; her nature and the reason of her creation didn't bother her, but she didn't like to be alone. And now, the Commander was gone, but he had left her alone much before the battle. _'Why?'_ she thought. _'Why I am alone? I don't like it... but I'm alone.'_ She didn't like to think about it, but sleep refused to come that night. Rei wasn't the only one that couldn't sleep that night. One kilometer beneath the bluehaired girl, in a dark corridor inside Nerv's headquarters, Ryoji Kaji was trying to break a door. When the electronic lock biped to announce the opening of the door Kaji damned to his mouth and hid between the shadows of the corner. He waited for the sudden green lightning that would reveal that the lantern attached to the barrel of a soldier's gun was aiming at him, but nothing happened. Sighing in relief, Kaji readjusted his goggles and started to walk, as silently as the air that surrounded him, along the dark corridor. The plaques in the doors were merely pale shadows in his green line of sight. Finally, he recognized what he was searching for after turn a corner. The elevator's door what would lead him to Fuyutsuki's office. He commenced to work in the panel that would open the door, _'Almost,'_ he thought. Only a month before, he would have been able to reach the room while the sun was still high in the sky, and the damned soldiers that were patrolling the headquarters would have had to salute him. Now, he had to come like a thief in the night. He was sure that Ikari wanted his head, since he was useless to the Commander now. _'And now he's like a vegetable,' _he thought._ 'And I have to know what's cooking Fuyutsuki, but...'_ The noise of steps distracted him. Automatically, he closed the panel and picked up his tools. Turning back, he saw, awfully bright in his night vision device, the light of a lantern approaching the corner. Twenty seconds, before the guard discovered him. Quickly, he considered his options. He could kill him with his gun, but they would miss the soldier soon, and he didn't know how much time he would need down there. So he had to hide somewhere, but it was easier say it than do it. Fifteen seconds. Kaji grabbed a picklock and tried to break through the nearest door, but he was nervous and he broke the small metal piece inside the lock. Ten seconds. The noise of the footsteps was now clearly audible. Sweating and swearing to his mouth, the pigtailed man tried with the next door. He couldn't open it. _'Damn locksmiths,'_ he thought. Although Nerv used to be stingy like Harpagon in many things, it seemed that locks weren't one of them. Five seconds. There wasn't anything that he could do, now. Just at the end, trapped like a rat. He sighed and pulled out his gun, passing a hand over the latch as farewell. Three seconds. He wasted other two seconds staring like a stupid at the open door. Grinning hysterically, he entered the dark room and closed the door as silently as he could. While he hid behind the desk, waiting, he noticed that the small office belonged to Miss Ibuki, as a small plaque on the desk announced to whoever that could be interested. _'I have to send her two dozens of roses,'_ thought Kaji while he was watching how in the frame of the door the light of the lantern turned away to patrol another corridor. He still waited silent in the shadows another five minutes before walking out of Maya's office and heading to the elevator. Without overzealous guards wandering everywhere, Kaji only needed three minutes to make the twin doors open. The elevator wasn't there, and he had to use a thin rope to descend to the next floor. Another three minutes of manipulation allowed him to reach a small corridor with only one door. He smiled. Gendo's former office -now occupied by Fuyutsuki- was the deepest department of the headquarters. Beneath it started the Dogma Terminal, the stronghold that surrounded Heaven's Door and the Angel imprisoned there. The sight of the seven-eyed giant still chased Kaji's nightmares. He shook his head; he hadn't time to waste pondering about the nature of Lilith. A small sigh of relief could be heard in the huge office when he discovered what he was searching for: the own MAGI terminal of the Commander. If Fuyutsuki had stored his plans in any other place than his mind, it would be in the small laptop that Kaji was activating. He switched off his goggles and blinked at the white bright of the screen. He was aware that the virus he had just activated only would hide his activities for a few minutes, but he needn't more time. He had found something interesting. A copy of a report from Ritsuko to Fuyutsuki. 

---

12/10/2015 11:23PM   
FROM: Akagi Ritsuko, DS4 (Nerv ID: 334579805)   
TO: Fuyutsuki Kouzo, Commander. _Following your orders, I've rearranged Adam Project's schedule to accomplish the new directives you have issued. I estimate that in three weeks we will be able to execute the SSD-24 protocol on the sample. Four, if we're delayed by another attack. Sincerely, Ritsuko. PS: Have you reconsidered it? I know that you're now in command, and I won't discuss your orders, but I don't think that it be a good idea. The risk is excessive, sir. _

---

_'Interesting,'_ thought Kaji, _'but too much vague. I need...'_ Thinking can become difficult when somebody is trying to discern if a rifle's butt is harder than your head. Kaji fell heavily to the floor, and the last thing he saw before he fainted was a pair of black boots. _'Damn,'_ he thought. 

***

Kaji awoke to realize that his head hurt like if somebody would have blown it with the butt of a rifle. _'Ey, but that was exactly what happened,'_ thought Kaji sarcastically. He risked opening an eye, hoping that he were outside the Geofront, lying on his bed -preferiblely with Misato at his side- and that the pain were only the effect of a bad hangover. The sight of Fuyutsuki's grinning face destroyed his hopes. Opening the another eye, Kaji realized that he was sat down in a chair with his hands tied behind him. "I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff, Commander," he said. "Not really," shrugged Fuyutsuki, smiling. "What were you looking for, Kaji?" "For the toilet," replied Kaji cheery. He couldn't help it. "It seems you got lost somewhere in your way," replied Fuyutsuki, getting up. "So you're going to free me after telling me what are you scheming?" yawned Kaji, trying to appear indifferent. "No, of course not," chuckled the old man, walking around the room. "I'm going to throw you in a dark room and forget where I put the key." "You're following Gendo's plans, aren't you?" Kaji claimed, relieved to know that he wasn't going to die in any immediate future. "Why?" "If I were following Gendo's plans, you would have died..." pointed Fuyutsuki, approaching him, "...hours ago. I'm not Ikari, Mister Kaji. I'm a different man. Try to remember it." Fuyutsuki got up and looked at the guards. "Enough," he said. "Sergeant, keep him under constant vigilance." The officer nodded blindly. Kaji saw how the door closed behind Fuyutsuki, leaving him trapped in the last stronghold of the human race. He was imprisoned in the Geofront. **_

Author's Notes 

_**As always, Lynx sweated ink to correct my grammar mistakes. How he could do it without ending hating this, is something that surpass me. Thank you! Well, the Kaji Bond part is obviously a copy-plagiarism-tribute to the well-known spy movies. I had always wanted to write something with Kaji as a secret agent, carrying a lot of cool gadgets... ^_^ Not much else to say. The next chapter will be published in early April, more or less. As always, you can write to chobits@hotpop.com if you want to comment me anything or perhaps preread the next chapter; this story can also be read in my home page in a more stilish way. See you! **Athos**


	4. Arael I

There were no seagulls, noticed Gendo. 

He had seen them for the first time when he had been in Okinawa, in his grandfather's house -the one that had been exactly like the one he had behind him-. The laughs of the birds had confused him; he had thought that the white flyers were laughing at him, and he had thrown a stone to one of them. 

His grandfather had told him that the birds weren't laughing at the young -indeed young; he only was nine- Rokubungi, but at anybody that couldn't fly like them. But, although with the passage of time he would have realised what his grandfather had meant if he hadn't closed his childhood memories in a far and dark corner of his mind six years after that summer, at that moment Gendo hadn't liked the answer. 

'But, Grandpa, they shouldn't be laughing at me, anyway,' he had said, trying to throw another stone. 

'They're free,' had replied Hideki Rokubungi, catching the stone in the air, 'and the seagulls can fly freely with a wild wind on their wings. That's a true joy of life, Gen-chan. If seagulls cannot laugh, as free as they are, then nobody can.' 

'I don't like them.' 

'Why? Because they can do something you cannot? Do you want to fly?' 

'I do not wish to fly. I wish they couldn't,' had muttered Gendo. 

'Enjoy what you have, and leave the rest live in peace,' had said the old fisherman, messing his grandson's hair. 'Come on, let's dinner.' 

Now he could see it clear. It was strange how the memories had come back without any apparent reason. Gendo stopped to daydream and looked at Yui, laid at his side and staring at him deeply. He let his gaze wander across her body, remembering where each lunar he had kissed so many times in the past was on the warm flesh, tracing every curve under the soft white dress. 

Yui was lying down on the blanket, with her feet dancing with the air over her back. He passed a finger across one of her soles, making her giggle in response. 

"I always liked to hear you giggle, Yui," Gendo muttered absently. 

"Then why didn't you make me laugh more often?" she asked back. 

Ten questions for each vague answer she gave. That was Yui's conversation, and Gendo had so many questions... But the time was a senseless thing there. For how long they had been sitting on the blanket, it was a question that Gendo couldn't answer. Sometimes it seemed a year and sometimes it seemed that he had just arrived five minutes ago; but even when Gendo thought that he had stood there for a lifetime, he didn't feel any need or purpose to go to another place. For the first time in many, many years, Gendo Ikari knew peace. 

"I don't know," he answered, still caressing her bare foot. "It didn't seem important, then. We had the time of two lives to make all that things." 

"Did we?" 

"I know now that we hadn't. And now I regret not having done other things." 

"You cannot change the past." 

"But I can create the future." 

"You could," pointed Yui, closing her eyes at the soft breeze that had started to come from the sea, "before." 

"I know," replied Gendo bitterly, leaving free his feet. "Why did you have to leave me, Yui?" 

"Why did you have to leave me, Gendo?" echoed back Yui, digging a small hole in the sand with her feet and feeling how the bright grains fell slowly between her fingers when she raised them. 

"I didn't leave you, Yui... It was you..." 

"Do you love me, Gendo?" 

"Yes," replied Gendo without hesitation. If there was something sure in his life, it was that. 

Yui nodded and got up, cleaning the sand from her sundress. Dry as it was, all fell to the ground, creating a small sparkle of light around her waist for a moment. Gendo feared for an awful moment that she would go away -he tried to get up but he couldn't, though- but she simply turned back and stared at him. 

Slowly, the green eyed woman leant over Gendo; slowly, she approached him, and Gendo started to see his own reflex on her eyes; slowly, he felt her warm breath blow against his face while, kneeling down, Yui tilted her head. Slowly, her face merely inches from his own, making Gendo fight the urge of kissing her, she spoke again. 

"I know... that you love me... but... did you love me?" 

Gendo gulped hard. She had asked the question he had feared to confront in all those ten years. 

"Yes..." he answered, his voice merely a whisper. 

Yui shook her head. 

"Is that true?" 

"I..." Gendo lost the words, feeling that anything he could say wouldn't help him. He had never could lie to Yui, and he didn't know what was the truth. 

"What?" she muttered. 

"I love you now," replied ashamed Gendo, looking down, "but..." 

"But?" Yui breathed, leaning even closer to him. 

"But, I... Yui... I didn't knew that, before," he finished, still avoiding her gaze. 

Suddenly he felt her lips brushing against his own, and, for a delightful second, her sweet taste in his mouth. Before he could do anything the smooth sensation ended, and he found himself blinking, surprised, while he tried to understand what just had happened. Yui got up, smiling, but she didn't say anything, waiting for him to speak. 

"Why?" was all that a stunned Gendo managed to reply. 

"For being sincere," answered Yui enigmatically. "It's a beginning," 

*** 

**CHAPTER 3: ARAEL   
(Part one)**

Clouds. 

A grey sky. 

Rain. 

Drops falling tenderly. 

Rei stared out of the window while she waited for Ritsuko. Outside it was raining, for the first time in several months. She couldn't see anything from it, she noted a bit disappointed, due to the bright light. In the school, she had chosen a sit from where she could see the sky, clouds, the water of a font and the school's playground, where the small children of the lower courses played happily, shouting in their games. 

Rei liked that view; the window was almost the only reason, apart from her orders, that made her keep attending the school. Everything seemed the same day after day -children playing, water, trees, clouds and the blue sky- but, notwithstanding, there were everyday small changes that made the sight from the window delightful. Today the change could be the first fallen loaf of the autumn. Or maybe the small children of the playground would have come with a new game, or maybe the clouds over them would have drawn those delicate webs that announced that the weather would be colder for a brief time. There could be so many things... 

The young girl only could see now how the drops ran slowly through the glass, as she felt how they fell also across her face, coming from her soaked hair. She knew that she should have picked an umbrella to come to the headquarters, but she liked the feeling of the rain on her face. While she had walked for the empty streets, its normal crowd absent from them, she had crossed with several people, most of them running to avoid the rain. But she had seen also a few people that walked quietly under the sky's tears. She had felt a vague feeling of community with them, almost like if the blue haired pilot and the lone wanderers shared a small secret. 

There weren't any secrets in her life, she thought. All had been organised and fixed. From her birth to her upcoming last duty, Gendo Ikari had thought in everything; she was supposed to pilot her Evangelion to defeat the Angels, and later, to reunite Gendo with Yui trough Third Impact; then she could return to the void. But now... 

She placed a hand over the window, feeling the cold and wet crystal under her fingers. Maybe she might ask Ikari about the subject, she thought. Maybe he could help her to understand that, and perhaps... 

She turned back when she heard the door of the room opening behind her. 

She was waiting for Doctor Akagi, but who appeared in the door's frame was the brand new Commander of Nerv, Kouzo Fuyutsuki. 

"Commander," she acknowledged. 

"Rei, you're soaked," blinked the old man, surprised. "Why didn't you catch a umbrella?" 

Rei shrugged slightly. Among the things she was foreseeing to do that day certainly wasn't talking with the Commander about her deep feelings. 

"Well, I... how do you feel, Rei?" asked Fuyutsuki. 

"Fine," replied Rei flatly. 

Seeing that the young girl wasn't talkative, Fuyutsuki shook his head and turned to leave. A soft whisper stopped him, though. He hated when Rei did that. 

"Commander?" she asked. 

"Yes, Rei?" 

"Is there any change in my duties?" 

He looked at her slightly surprised; he wasn't expecting Rei to ask such a thing. But it made sense, though. Rei had a so important role in Gendo's plans that she had to know what the true intentions of Seele and the Commander were and what were her own duties in both scenarios; now she had found an incognita, since she didn't know how was his own. 

He observed the blue haired girl staring blankly at him. He shrugged mentally. It wasn't necessary to tell Rei what he expected of her, yet. 

"You're supposed to keep piloting your unit, of course." 

He could see the slightest hint of annoyance over her face. Of course, she wasn't meaning that, and she knew that Fuyutsuki was aware of that. 

"Yes, sir," she replied. 

Akagi's arrival prevented him to add anything further. Saluting the blonde woman with a nod, he left the room, leaving both women alone. 

Ritsuko shrugged, and she accompanied Rei down, to the Dummy Plug Core System, deep in the Geofront. Fuyutsuki had established that the Dummy Plug Project had to keep going on, so the sequencing tests were still performed on a weekly basis. 

Naked, she felt how the LCL started to rise till she began to float on it. She often had heard Shinji's complains about it, but although she didn't like the taste of the orange liquid, it did not bother her either, and being merged in it was for her a certainly soothing sensation, at least while the mental probe didn't start its task. 

She was starting to feel the intrusive presence of the computer in the outskirts of her mind when Ritsuko, after she had verified that the process was working fine, crossed her arms and looked at her. Rei simply stared back at her, knowing that she would win any staring contest that involved any rival less capacitated than the Sphinx. 

As it had to be, Ritsuko turned her head to avoid Rei's gaze and simulated to be working in her laptop for a few moments. 

Rei found she lost in her thoughts, as she realized that this was the first Dummy Plug's test that hadn't seen Gendo controlling it. 

The sound of a cellphone's ring avoided her to keep thinking in that, with certain relief for her part. She knew where that line of thoughts leaded, and she didn't like it. She closed her eyes and shivered into the cold LCL, as she heard vaguely -the computer's probe clouded slightly her senses- how Akagi was talking with somebody. 

While she was trying to drain her mind and think in another thing, suddenly Rei felt how the LCL spilled out of the plug and the probe was withdrawing from her mind. She looked questioningly to Akagi. 

"The Fifteenth Angel has come," she simply said. 

Rei nodded. That was her duty, as ordered by the Commander. By the moment, she had an objective and an enemy to defeat; it would have to be enough. 

By the moment. Rei felt that it wouldn't last enough. 

***

The plug suit fit her body perfectly, but that thought didn't relief her. 

She looked at her face in the mirror. Blue over red. Blue eyes, red hair. 

Sighing, Asuka left the changing room and headed for her Evangelion. Another battle, and she feared that it would be like the last one, with Shinji saving the day while he muttered 'I mustn't run away,' like he always used to do. Even Wondergirl tried to show her how an Evangelion should be piloted... 

Well, then. She was still Asuka L. Sohryu, the pilot of the first battle-designed Evangelion. She'd show them how an Angel should be destroyed. 

***

Rei observed absently how the Second Child climbed up to her garish Evangelion. She tried to drain her mind. There were still Angels, and that thought comforted her a bit. Until the Seventeenth Angel appeared and were defeated, she would still be useful. 

The tired face of Misato Katsuragi appeared in the plugs of all the three Evas; in the Prototype and the Battle models, near the Launching Pods, and into the Test Type, frozen in its cage. 

"The Fifteenth Angel has been spotted," Misato informed them. "It's orbiting the Earth in L.E.O." 

"Like the Ninth?" asked Asuka, remembering the living bomb that had fallen over them, months ago. 

"No," pointed Ritsuko from another channel, "this one seems to be waiting." 

"So..." 

"So, this is the plan," Misato said, "Rei, you'll catch the Positron Rifle and beat him, and from there we'll see what happens." 

"No!" gasped Asuka. She knew it; they weren't going to rely on her anymore. She couldn't stand for that. 

"No!" she yelled. "Misato, I can do it!" 

"Asuka, I..." 

"I can!" 

"Let her go," ordered Fuyutsuki coldly. Misato looked at her officer surprised, and then shrugged. 

"As you wish," Misato replied. "Launch Eva-02." 

It was still raining outside when Asuka grabbed the Positron Rifle. 

Through the feedback of the Evangelion she felt the cold drops of rain all over her extended body. The clouds didn't let her to see the Angel, but she knew that the Fifteenth Messenger was there, floating in space. 

She looked at the image that a spy sat was airing to the broadcast while she waited for the Magi to finish the calculations. The Angel looked, lacking of a better word, like a giant insect made of light, with several... legs... around it with no apparent order. 

Asuka frowned. She didn't like insects, and this one wasn't an exception. 

The computer biped, telling her that the antimatter generator was working and that the computer has left all ready to fulfill the destiny of the bright creature. 

Asuka sighed, and she pulled up the rifle and looked at the grey sky through the aiming point. 

Then the Angel unleashed God's wrath over the redheaded girl. 

***

_'She's suffering,'_ thought Rei, hearing the screams of the pilot of unit two from the comlink. 

A ray of light had fallen from the sky to Eva-02, and although there was no physical damage, the Angel seemed to be assaulting its pilot's mind. Rei couldn't understand what Sohryu what saying -since she was speaking in a foreign language-, but it was obvious that the German redhead was suffering. Rei tried in vain to ignore Sohryu's screams to think in something useful to destroy the crystalline being, but she couldn't. In despite of what many people thought, Rei did have empathy and she wasn't able to stand up at Sohryu's pain. 

She wasn't the only one, as she heard Ikari's petition to go up and rescue Asuka by the comlink. Knowing that Ikari was better pilot than she was, she hoped that the Commander allowed him to rescue the unit two. 

"No," denied Fuyutsuki calmly. "The Eva-01 is still frozen." 

"But..." Shinji protested. 

"Ikari, shut up. Miss Ibuki, increase the LCL pressure in Unit Two's plug, please." 

Maya looked at him surprised. 

"Do it," he ordered absently. "Rei, be ready to rescue Unit Two." 

"Yes, sir," she replied softly. 

***

She didn't remember her name, or even who she was. 

She didn't remember why she was there. 

She didn't remember anything. 

The young girl looked unsure outside from her Evangelion, and she saw it. A few kilometers, the white being was approaching slowly to the city. 

She pushed a button, and she smiled with the slightest of the smiles as she began heard the spinning sound of the sonic edge. 

She knew only that it was her duty to defeat that cruel creation of the Gods. And, for some reason unknown to the girl, it was a smoothing thought. She didn't need anything else that that enemy, and a weapon to defeat it. 

Suddenly, a bright ray of light came from the clumsy creature and hit her unit straight. 

The orange liquid she was submerged in was cold, she remembered, and it had a disagreeable taste. She couldn't get rid of the thought, but it didn't mind. In a few seconds she would reach it, and then it would be erased from the face of Earth. The girl without name smiled as she turned to face her enemy, with a strange joy in her heart. 

She charged against the Angel across the rainy fields of the city. 

_****_

Author's Notes 

And well, here we have another little chapter of this fic. I'd like to thank Lynx for preread for me –I'm sorry, I promise that I'll try to improve my grammar for the next time-. 

If the end of the chapter confuses you, don't worry. It's a little flash-forward, and all will be explained in the next chapter. 

I'd want to dedicate this chapter to Uzumaki. Her comments made me change the plot of this part of the story from a bored novelization of the series to –I hope- a more interesting plot. I'm not sure if I want her to keep reviewing the story or not... ^_~ 

See You! 

**Athos **


	5. Arael II

"A beginning?" Gendo asked, still confused. "For what?" 

"For what?" she shrugged. "For nothing, if you cannot see it." 

"What?" 

"You always have to know everything, haven't you?" Yui replied, sitting down next to him. 

He raised a hand and put one of her rebel tufts of hair behind her ear. A faint, pale light appeared in the horizon like the very first sign of a far dawn. It seemed, after all, that there was a day in this place. 

"Knowledge is important," he shrugged apologetically. 

"Is it the only important thing, Gendo?" 

"You are important." 

"So important that you were willing to destroy the world to bring me back?" 

"Yes," Gendo answered without any hesitation. "And I don't regret anything. It was all for you." 

"I'm impressed, to say the least. It's... romantic, if you think about it," she smiled. "You really regret nothing?" 

"No..." Gendo answered. "Only to... have failed you." 

"Failed?" 

"This cannot be real." 

"Am I not real?" 

"I... don't know." 

Yui smiled and snuggled agaist him, burying her head under his chin. Gendo hugged her. Real or not, she was there. 

"Other people also love," Yui said softly. 

"I don't care." 

"Shinji loves, as well." 

"I..." Gendo found himself without words. 

Yui raised her head and looked straigh at him. "You...?" she whispered him. 

"I didn't know it..." he stammered. 

"You did know it," she replied. 

"I..." 

"What?" 

"I'm sorry, Yui." 

**CHAPTER 4: ARAEL   
(Part two)**

The meeting room was dark, as usual. Even when a Seele council meeting was taking place, the faint glimmers of the holograms weren't enough to give the big room more than a pale and eerie light, which was -in the opinion of Fuyutsuki, at least- very appropriate for the nature of the discussions that took place there. Four of the five men that were responsible for the Human Complementation Plan were already there, waiting silently for the arrival of Keel Lorentz. 

Fuyutsuki was starting to feel annoyed, as he knew that the lack of punctuality of the Swiss was only a practical tactic to ensure that he had control of the meeting. Gendo had also enjoyed such childish things, and often he did that only to make his interlocutors loose their temper, so he could manipulate them better. Besides, the Commander of Nerv had better things to do at that exact moment, with the Fifteenth Angel floating nonchalantly over the gray sky of the city, and only one Evangelion fully operational -as Unit One was still frozen, and Unit Two's pilot was currently at the infirmary as a cautionary measure, until her mental state could be fully confirmed- he only could wait sitting down for the Angel to made the first move. That didn't mean, though, that Lorentz could make him stay forever in a badly illuminated room together with four men whose sanity could very well be a matter of discussion, to say the least. 

Finally, with a flash which made Fuyutsuki think of a bad magician trying to catch the attention of his audience, Lorentz appeared at the other end of the table, pale under the bright light of his projector. Or perhaps he was pale by nature, thought Fuyutsuki. He had never met him personally, and as far as he knew, Lorentz could very well be a cripple, as he never had seen him in another place besides the council chamber. 

"Commander Fuyutsuki," Lorentz acknowledged him. 

He simply nodded in response. 

"Do you have anything new to report, Commander?" 

"No. We're studying what kind of measures should be taken against this Angel, and all the projects are on schedule. Adam Project, as expected, has been finished last week," Fuyutsuki said. 

"Well," replied Lorentz, looking as satisfied as a man that was half composed of cybernetic devices ever could, which wasn't very much. "We have the Fifth Child." 

Fuyutsuki didn't answer, for the other man hadn't asked anything, and -much as Rei used to achieve with her silence- one of the counselors felt the urge to fill the silence, and spoke with a screechy, heavily accented voice under his yellow light stream. 

"As the Scrolls predict, the Seventeenth Angel has to come from Mankind. And he shall be the one that will bring Complementation to us." 

Lorentz nodded. "Indeed he shall. Kaworu Nagisa will be the catalyst of Third Impact." 

Fuyutsuki kept to himself that he already had a viable Angel hybrid. Somehow, Gendo had managed to keep the council unaware of the origins of the First Child, and Fuyutsuki considered it a wise policy. 

"You will not interfere with his task, Commander," warned another counselor, vaguely menacing under the angry red hue of his desk. 

"I will not," Fuyutsuki assured, maintaining eyecontact with the counselor until he blinked uneasily and started to nervously handle a paper. Fuyutsuki hid a grin; his professor's skills were still effective, after all. He returned his attention to Lorentz. "When will the Fifth Child arrive?" 

"That's entirely up to us," Lorentz said. "When the moment comes." 

"As you want," Fuyutsuki shrugged. 

"Well, Commander. Take care of the Angel," said Lorentz satisfied, dismissing the meeting. 

When all thecouncil members disappeared from his sight, he leant back in his chair and sighed. Sometimes, and those times were increasing lately, he wished he had never left his post at university, where his only worry was how to give the best grades possible possible without the rector noticing it. Reaching for a button, he made the light of the desk disappear, and darkness returned to the room. Vague shadows, purple illusions created by his mind, started to dance in front of his eyes, as they tried to dig in the black cloud that surrounded him. The last thing he needed right at that moment was a clouded mind. He closed his eyes. 

***

She opened her eyes. 

And she saw a white ceiling. The infirmary, she realized. 

_'I'm still alive,'_ she thought. 

For anyone else, to know that that was true -especially after having suffered a so horrible accident- would be relieving sensation; for anyone else, now the problem would be how to get rid of the siblings and friends that would invade the room, in order to get a tad of rest. It wasn't like that for Asuka. 

She shivered as she remembered the last moments of consciousness she'd had. Memories of what the Angel had done to her mind came to her, and she felt an anger she didn't know she had in her. The Angel had raped her, and she couldn't get her revenge because Shinji would have already take care of the situation, saving... 

"Are you Ok?" asked a voice. A voice of a shy, concerned boy. Shinji. She looked at him with anger. The boy was still wearing his plugsuit; a reminder of how much of a better pilot he was. 

"Leave me alone, stupid," she hissed. 

Shinji blinked, surprised. "Asuka, are you ok?" 

"Of course I'm ok!" she answered harshly. "Of course, you saved me, so how could I be unwell?" 

Shinji reddened. "It was Ayanami," he mumbled, looking down. He knew that she wasn't going to like hearing that. 

"What?" Asuka asked. 

"Ayanami..." he stuttered, "rescued you." 

"Wondergirl? Don't tell me that Wondergirl kill the Angel on her own. Simply wonderful," she said, putting as venom as she could in her voice. "And you sat down, watching how that thing raped me." 

Asuka closed her eyes and let her head fall again over the pillow, sighing. That was better for the moment. Wondergirl -a doll, and nothing more, she thought, shivering at the old, painful memories that came to her head with that word- had saved her, and she would manage to rub it over all her face in some sickening subtle way, like she always did. 

"Go away, Shinji," she said coldly. She passed a hand through her red fringe, messing her usually neatly combed hair. 

"Asuka, I..." 

"Where are my connectors?" Asuka asked angrily, noticing that the red devices that she always wore in the top of her hair were missing. 

"I guess that the nurse removed them..." replied Shinji shyly. 

"You guess?" 

"I'm sorry," Shinji whispered, looking down. 

Wrath appeared in the blue eyes of Asuka and she got up, now sitting down in her bed, clenching her fist menacingly. 

"I'm going to..." 

The sudden appearance of a middle aged man wearing a white, creased coat saved Shinji. Reading his printout through the half-gray, half-brown, loose hair that fell over his eyes, the man approached the bed and smiled at Asuka. 

"I'm glad you've woken up, Miss Sohryu," he said. "What were you going to do?" 

"Who are you?" Asuka asked harshly. "Leave me alone. Both of you." 

Instantly, Shinji turned back and headed for the door, looking down. The doctor's smile went wider, making a lot of wrinkles appear on his face around his black eyes. 

"Please, Mr. Ikari," he said casually. "Stay around here. I'd like to talk to you later, if you don't mind." 

Shinji nodded and left the room. The man turned back again to Asuka. 

"Well, milady, as much as I'd love to obey your orders, I'm afraid I cannot, at the moment," he said making a bow. "I am your doctor." 

"I do not need medical attention," Asuka said, trying to get up. 

"I know. We checked you while you were unconscious," he said, taking a few notes in the notebook. 

Asuka didn't respond", leaning back again to stare blankly to the ceiling. 

"Well, I have to give you a little test, Miss Sohryu. I will be brief," the doctor shrugged. 

"I don't want to take a test," she replied, hiding her face beneath her hands. "I don't want anything." 

"I'm afraid that it's an order from the Commander, milady. Your rotation will start in three hours, I've been told, and we should end quickly with this if you want to get some rest." 

"Rotation?" asked Asuka surprised. 

"Yes," he replied. "Ah, of course, the young Ikari hadn't told you, had he?" 

"What?" 

"The Angel is still up there, I think -although of course, I don't know the details- and the Commander has established sentry rotations. We're waiting for it, I guess." 

"It hasn't been destroyed?" Asuka asked. 

It hadn't been destroyed; it was still up there. If she hadn't been able to destroy it and both of the other pilots hadn't, then she still had a chance to destroy it. One word appeared in Asuka's mind. Vengeance. She would pay it back for what it had done to her, and the Angel would know that Asuka Sohryu paid back her debts. With the highest interests. she sat up on her bed again and)looked at the doctor with renewed energy, pushing into the furthest corners of her mind the memories of the attack. She had to stay calm, if she wanted the psychiatrist -which was what that man was, quite obviously- to declare her able to pilot. 

"You should ask Ikari, I think he will be able to answer you better than I. But of course, if you don't want to pilot again, I could inform that..." 

"No!" Asuka interjected nervously. "I want to pilot again." 

"Well, then, if you don't mind..." 

"Of course, yes..." 

"Well. I want you to answer a few questions. Try to answer as fast as you can. Tell me your full name." 

"Asuka L. Sohryu." 

"The L stands for?" 

"Langley." 

"Favorite color?" 

"Red." 

"What was the color of Ikari's shirt?" 

"White, of course," Asuka smirked. 

"What did you eat yesterday?" the old man continued to ask quickly. 

"Noodles, I think. And ramen." 

"You're walking for a desert and you see a turtle..." 

***

As ordered -Shinji never thought that it could be a request, rather than an order- he was sitting on a bench, not far from the door of Asuka's room. The corridor was empty, well illuminated and quiet; from his seat he could see, at the very end of the corridor, the vague silhouettes of two security guards. He knew, from the previous times he had spent there, that this was the high security branch of the infirmary, where the pilots were supposed to stay, safe from any possible menace. 

A thin but large plant hung lazily from the column at his side, the leaves' bright green being the only note of color in the white, aseptic corridor. He took a leaf in his hand. It looked much like the ivy that used to appear in the old houses of Osaka, and he frowned for a second, thinking if it might be poison ivy. Of course, he realized immediately, nobody would put that kind of plant in a hospital. It was what it seemed to be. Plain, innocent, green ivy. 

He stared at the leaf in his hand, and it happened to occur to him that he had killed it. He didn't do nor see another thing which didn't involve death lately, though. It wasn't anything new; first, Mari Suzuhara. Seven ships sank down in Tokyo Channel, deep coffins for the sailors of the fleet of the United Nations. A VTOL exploding over the station of Tokyo III. Touji, half dead and bleeding in the Entry Plug. Buildings falling in the middle of each battle. His father, his blood mixed with Eva's. The head of Asuka's Eva, ripped off and fallen in front of him in the shelter where he was hiding, with the four blind eyes staring at him. Rei bleeding and panting in his arms. Asuka screaming through the speakers. 

He crunched the leaf in his hand. All what he could give was death and destruction, and he only could get hatred and pain back. 

_'Why do you pilot?'_ Rei had asked him what seemed years ago. 

"Why do I pilot?" Shinji asked to himself. "That's a good question." 

He threw the mashed leaf in a can and looked again at the end of the corridor, where the two guards were still standing firmly. The high security zone, he thought again. It was more than likely the part of the hospital where his father was, lying in a deep coma that might perhaps never end. 

"Doctor Ritsuko Akagi is needed at the Command Center," a female voice spoke softly on the speakers. 

At the same time, the man that had been checking Asuka walked out of Asuka's room. He saw Shinji and started to walk towards him, but before he could reach the bench, Ritsuko walked out of the room next to Asuka's. 

"Doctor Akagi," the doctor said. 

"Ah, it's you," Ritsuko coldly acknowledged. "Have you finished with the Second Child?" 

"Yes," he said. "My recommendation is that she should be allowed to keep piloting. She's affected by the attack, of course -I would worry, if she weren't-, but I think she can get over that without any major problems. That is, with a bit of help," he stated, looking at Shinji. "I'm going to talk with the young Ikari, right now." 

"Well," replied Ritsuko, satisfied. "The Commander will be pleased to hear that." 

"Ah," he said, as if the thought had just happened to flash in his mind. "One other thing." 

"Yes?" 

"Despite my opinion that she will be able to pilot for the present time, and in despite of the fact that a quick return to active duties will have a beneficial effect on Sohryu, I'd like to keep an eye on her. She has certain issues that could aggravate with the passage of time if they're not handled properly." 

Ritsuko narrowed her eyes. "Everybody has issues, doctor Ueda," 

"But not everybody has fourteen years and such a work." 

"I doubt she wants therapy. I have to go, doctor." 

The old man watched thoughtfully how Ritsuko walked along the corridor. He waited till the blonde woman reached the exit of the corridor and saluted to the guards before turning to Shinji. 

"Good day, Mr. Ikari!" he said cheerfully. 

"Shinji," was the quiet reply of the young boy. 

"Pardon?" 

"Just Shinji," he repeated a bit more loudly. 

"Of course. Well, Shinji, I'd like to talk to you about Miss Sohryu's status." 

"How is she?" 

"Sleeping, or so I hope. She still needs a bit of rest," he said, pausing briefly before continuing. "However, I'm sure you're aware that she suffered some kind of mental injury during the last skirmish." 

"I heard her," he whispered. 

"I'm sure, also, that you've heard the little chat I've just had with Dr. Akagi, right?" he winked an eye, making Shinji blush. "Don't worry. However, what I've said to her is true." 

Shinji nodded again, not really knowing what he was being asked for. 

"As I've been told, she had a very small circle of relationships. Only you, Major Katsuragi, miss Ayanami and a girl from your school called Hikari Horaki -you know her, don't you? -are in contact with her on a daily basis. She has pushed away everyone else." 

Shinji didn't like what he was hearing. He was a master in what involved avoiding closeness. The hedgehog's dilemma: to hurt and be hurt was the only thing he could do properly; give pain and receive hatred. While Ueda waited for him to reply, he remembered the screams of the redhead resounding all over his Entry Plug; he had known her pain and anguish, and he had felt her agony, and his own frustration when Fuyutsuki denied his requests to help her had grown beyond measure. 

Seeing that Shinji was lost in his thoughts, the psychologist followed on. "I don't know what kind of relationship you could mantain with Miss Sohryu," he said, raising a hand to cut Shinji's prompt reply, "and it's none of my business. But I'd want you to be patient with her." 

Shinji nodded. "I will try," he said, quietly but determined. He owed her that, at the very least. 

"Well," the medical officer replied. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm afraid I have to go." 

Shinji nodded, and after bowing politely to him, the doctor walked away following the same path that Ritsuko had. However, Shinji was too busy staring at the white door of Asuka's room to notice the doctor's departure. It was one thing to say that he would help Asuka and another -deeply different- was to do it. He gulped, and pushed the door, entering the room. 

As Ueda had said, Asuka was asleep again, with a small frown on her face. Shinji couldn't help but smile when he heard a faint snore from the redhead; he sat down in the chair next to her bed. 

Asuka sighed and smiled in her dream, and Shinji stared at her now contented face. 

***

Rei watched -again- the small screen that appeared in the clear fluid of the plug. The Angel, indifferent to the frantic efforts that the three supercomputers and dozens of technicians down there were doing to find a method able to destroy it, was still floating in the void of space far over Japan. 

Rei sighed and looked at a bubble of air floated in the LCL. 

Rei was glad to be back in Unit Zero, but everything had a limit. She had spent the last four hours there, doing absolutely nothing. Soon Sohryu would relieve her, though, and she would be able to take some rest. 

However, she felt a slight annoyance about the idea of leaving her post to the German redhead, but she couldn't precise why. It was, though, the same vaguely frightening feeling that she'd had when the Commander had allowed Sohryu to take her place. 

Rei let another bubble to reach the upper part of the plug. 

Everybody seemed to be waiting, now. Except for the Magi system and its operators, all the maintenance crews had finished all the small tasks that the engineers had managed to concoct, and she had checked twice -and some systems even more then that- all the systems and subsystems of Unit Zero. Everything was ready to fight the Angel, but it didn't come. It was like a chess game, with the two players waiting for the other to make the first move. 

Another bubble joined the first two. 

***

If one was searching for Kozo Fuyutsuki and had checked that he wasn't in his office nor in the Command Center, the next place to search was without a doubt Unit One's cage. And there Ritsuko found him, sitting down at the edge of the orange pool and staring at the eyes of the horned Evangelion. 

"Commander?" Ritsuko called. 

"Ah, doctor Akagi," he said, without showing any intention to get up. "Do you have something new?" 

"Not really," she sighed, sitting down next to him. "Asuka is fine, as expected, and she will be able to relieve Rei in fifteen minutes. I have spent the last three hours in front of the Magi, trying to find a way to do something with the Angel, but it's impossible. It has quite a strong AT Field, and even the direct impact of several N2 warheads won't give him more than a slight headache." 

"Let's play at his own game," he said, swinging his feet over the orange cooling liquid. "We'll wait for him to do something. Then we'll strike back." 

"Yes, Sir," Ritsuko nodded. 

Both stayed silent for several minutes in the empty cage. 

"How is Ikari?" Fuyutsuki asked finally. 

"There hasn't been any changes," she shrugged. "You know, even after all this time, I never had seen him asleep nor slept with him. It's kind of funny," she said thoughtfully, "I'm closer to him now that he's in coma that before the... He wouldn't like it, I think" 

Fuyutsuki smirked, but didn't respond. 

The cooling liquid only reached till the shoulders of Unit One, which were moored to a massive column, strong enough to keep a bulk carrier maintained in the air, but it seemed small and useless compared to the purple arms that disappeared beneath the orange fluid. Unit One was there only because it was the will of the mecha to stay there. 

"I'm so tired," he said. "Tired like I've never been before, tired like I never thought I could be. I could lie and sleep forever." 

"Perhaps you may," Ritsuko answered. "If the Angel succeeds." 

"I know, but it's not still time for sleep," he said thoughtfully getting up. "Not yet. But soon..." 

Ritsuko got up as well, and she erased the wrinkles of her skirt. "Well," she said, "I'd better return to the Magi, I have work to do." 

"Of course. I will relieve Katsuragi, as well," he said, glancing one last time at the purple Evangelion. "By the way, remove the restraints to Unit One and tell Ikari that he will relieve Sohryu in four hours. He should get ready and rest as long as he can." 

"Why are you unfreezing it now?" 

"It's a moment as good as any other. Good afternoon, doctor Akagi," he said, walking out the cage. 

Ritsuko shrugged and she followed him, leaving the purple machine alone in the cage. 

***

Asuka finally awoke, and she stared to the white ceiling, blinking sleepy with her still heavy eyelids. 

She yawned, and raised her hands to her face to rub her eyes in a vain attempt to get rid of the cobwebs of sleep that clouded her sight.. She realized then that Shinji was sitting down next to her bed in a chair, asleep in the most uncomfortable way possible, with his neck in a strange angle that would give him a less than enviable sore neck when he awoke. 

A cell phone rang. It was Shinji's phone, but that didn't awaken him. Asuka smiled to herself and leant over him, holding her breath. She tilted her head, her lips parting. 

"Idiot, wake up!" she yelled, her mouth merely inches away from his ear. She watched amused how he fell off his chair with a loud clatter; Shinji started to babble incoherent excuses even before getting up.

"I... what... I didn't... I..." 

"Shinji!" she said. "What did you think you were doing?" 

"I'm sorry," he answered still half asleep, "I..." The phone rang again. Getting up, Shinji took the small, black device and answered the call. 

"Yes?" he yawned. 

"Shinji? Ritsuko here. Is Asuka asleep?" 

"Uh?" he babbled, glancing guiltily at her . "No, she's awake." 

"Perfect. Tell her that she has to put on a plug suit and go to her Eva's cage. By the way, the Commander has decided that your Eva is to be removed from cryostasis. You will relieve Asuka in four hours; so try to rest as much as you can, ok?" 

"Right, but..." 

"Well, then," she cut him off. "Bye!" 

Shinji looked at the disconnected phone in his hand and shook his head, surprised. 

"Whats going on?" Asuka asked, sitting on the bed. 

"Uh?" 

Asuka rolled her eyes. "You could at least try to look at my face when I'm talking to you, pervert! Whats going on?" 

"I wasn't..." Shinji blushed. "I... Ritsuko told me that you should get a plug suit and go to the cage of Unit Two..." 

"Wunderbar. Now get out of here!" 

"What?" 

"You know," Asuka said in an insinuating, sultry voice, "I'm only wearing a hospital gown, Shinji, so... Get out of here! And get me a plug suit!" 

Shinji went red and got up, stumbling to the door. Asuka watched him walk out, and she smiled again. Things seemed to be going somewhat better for her. She hadn't been judged unfit to pilot by the psychologist, there had been no nightmares, and she still could defeat the Angel, as it was still up there. 

The Angel. Her smile faded away, as she saw again the hanging figure of her mother, slowly turning from the ceiling. 

_ 'Die with me, Asuka,' _

'No!' 

'Asuka... Die with me...' 

'Mama!' 

She shivered and closed her eyes. The Angel was going to pay for that. As certain as her name was Asuka, it was going to die by her hand. 

She leant back on the bed and waited patiently for Shinji to bring her a plug suit. 

***

Unit Two's footsteps echoed loudly as it walked towards the launching gates, where Asuka had to spend her rotation. She skillfully placed the red mecha in the launch ramp next to Unit Zero and smiled as the locks of the elevator grabbed her Eva's shoulders exactly at the prescribed points. A perfect maneuver, she thought. 

She reclined in her seat and waited for any indication of orders. She didn't get any, so finally, after a few minutes in the LCL, she opened a comlink with the Command Center. 

Looking both amazingly bored and awfully tired, Makoto appeared in the screen and looked at her, blinking heavily. 

"Yes, Asuka?" 

"And now? What's the plan?" she asked. 

"Plan?" Makoto yawned. "Oh, the plan. Of course, we have a plan. Well," he said, typing boredly with two fingers. "Activate the diagnosis procedure. We're going to check your Eva." 

"And the Angel?" Asuka asked dumbfounded. 

"What about the angel?" he replied irritated. "When it lands, we'll catch it." 

"That's all?!" 

"That's all. Now, switch on the DP, and..." 

Half-amused, Shinji listened to the conversation between Asuka and Makoto. The redhead seemed to be more then a little excited about the upcoming battle, a concept absolutely foreign to him. He would have given anything to be out of there. He turned to Ritsuko, only to find that she was yawning, too. Everybody seemed to be on the verge of fall asleep at their posts. 

After stretching herself, the blonde gave Shinji her attention. 

"I was wondering," Shinji mumbled, "how long are we going to be here?" 

"Untill the angel is destroyed, Shinji," she smiled tiredly. 

"And if it doesn't land?" 

"Oh, don't worry. The UN army will strike him with several dozen N2 warheads. In fact, the boys in blue already have a itchy trigger finger, and they want to nuke it." 

"Oh," Shinji replied. 

"What is worrying you?" she asked. "Come on, you can tell me." 

"I was thinking in the people of the city," Shinji murmured. "In the shelters and all..." 

"That? Don't worry," she laughed. "The city has been evacuated as of a few hours ago." 

"I see." 

"You know, you will take your turn in four hours. Why don't you try to sleep a bit? It's kind of late." 

"I..." 

"There are some unused quarters... down here, Maya knows where. Ask her." Shinji nodded, and she yawned again. "You don't know how much I envy you right now, Shinji. Now, I have work to do, I'm afraid." 

Shinji nodded again, and Ritsuko turned back to her computer. He walked towards the desk of the young assistant of Ritsuko and coughed, trying politely to catch her attention. 

***

After receiving very detailed and comprehensive instructions -that even included a map drawn by her own hand- from Maya, Shinji found that it was still very easy to get lost in Nerv's corridors. He never had really understood the way they were organized, and he decided to wander around till he found a familiar place. Taking into account that he was near the Command Center and the cages, that shouldn't take too much time. 

Anyway, he checked the map Maya had made again and shook his head. In despite of her neat, organized appearance, Maya's handwriting was messy and impossible to read for any other living being than Maya. She could have very well written the map in ancient Norse, for all that he was able to understand. 

_'Is that a 'Labs'?'_, he asked to himself. God knew, but perhaps... 

"Ikari." 

Surprised, Shinji turned around. He had been so distracted trying to decipher Maya's map that he had walked past Rei without noticing her. The albino girl seemed to have taken a quick shower after leaving her Unit, as she was already dressed back in her school uniform but she had her hair still her hair was still soaked. 

"Ayanami!" he said. "Uh... Hi?" 

"Hello," she replied calmly. 

"What are you doing here?" 

"Searching for you," Rei stated. 

"Why?" Shinji asked puzzled. 

"You were lost," she said, a drop of water falling from her hair. 

"Well, kind of..." admitted Shinji, blushing. "Thank you, Ayanami." 

She shrugged and started to walk. Shinji ran a few steps to match his pace with hers. 

"I guess that you are tired and stuff, after staying in there for so long," he said, trying to start a conversation. 

Rei didn't reply. Shinji sighed; that was pointless. 

They arrived to crossing-point, and Rei, apparently knowing much well than him where they were going, choose the left path. They walked silently in an well-illuminated corridor, and Shinji started to recognize the area. 

"I am," whispered Rei softly, surprising him. "I wish to sleep." 

"You have near eight hours, till you have to go there again, haven't you?" 

"Yes. I will relieve you by the morning," she said, stopping in front of a door. "Those are the sleeping quarters for the pilots," Rei added, opening the door. 

"Here?" 

"Yes." 

"I mean... in the same... I can't..." Shinji stuttered. 

"What's wrong?" 

"I..." Shinji blushed. He looked down, ashamed. 

"There is more than one bed, Ikari," she said, entering the room. 

Shinji followed her, and he discovered that, as Rei had assured him, there were more plenty of beds in the sleeping quarters. There were around ten small beds, arranged neatly against the walls. It was the first time Shinji had to spend the night at the Geofront, but it seemed that Rei had been already there, as she walked promptly to one of the beds and started to remove her shoes and socks. Anticipating what would follow that, Shinji turned back and stared politely to the wall, studying the metallic ornaments of the door. 

"Ayanami?" he asked without turning back. 

"Yes?" Rei replied through the silky sound of clothing in motion. 

"Do you think that the Angels are going someday stop coming?" 

"Yes." 

Since Shinji was still staring to the wall, he couldn't see how Rei, while refastening her shirt after removing her bra, frowned and looked down. Shinji's question disturbed her more than he ever could have known. He couldn't have known that, she thought, or he wouldn't had asked. Only three Angels remained, and after that Rei, who had grown fully aware of her final purpose -her only purpose- would be useless. 

A void. Nothing to do. Nobody who cared for her. 

She slipped between the sheets of her bed and closed her eyes tightly, hoping for a sleep she knew would take almost all night to come. 

Unaware of her concerns, Shinji finally turned back and looked at her. Rei was lying on her side, back turned to him, in a bed at the other corner of the room. Thankfully, Shinji noticed that she wore at least her shirt. 

Trying to do it as fast as he could, Shinji took off his pants and shirt and got into the bed. The few hours of sleep he had gotten in Asuka's hospital room hadn't been enough. It being past midnight for quite some time now, and having had a stressful day, Shinji didn't need much time to fall in a heavy sleep, with the faint sound of Rei's soft breath as background. 

Rei needed near three hours to fall asleep. 

***

_ 'You are a doll, and nothing more, Wondergirl,' said Asuka, smirking disagreeably. _

'You have been created with only one purpose, Rei,' the Commander told her coldly. 

'You're supposed to keep piloting your unit, of course,' Fuyutsuki ordered her. 

She was sitting down in a chair, a crowd surrounding her. She didn't like crowds. She didn't like what they were saying, but she couldn't move. 

'Rei? The Commander's little toy, and nothing more,' Ritsuko pointed cruelly. She had heard the blonde say that once, long time ago, when the scientist was thinking she couldn't hear her. 

'A doll,' Asuka repeated, this time dressed in her plugsuit. 

'You must carry me to Yui. Any other purpose is irrelevant,' Gendo smiled. 

Rei put her hands to her face. She didn't wish to hear that. She didn't want to be there. 

'Ayanami.' 

She didn't wish to hear them. 

'Ayanami!' 

'Shinji?' she thought, shaking her head 'Shinji... I'd wish...' 

"Ayanami!" Shinji repeated, shaking her shoulders gently. "Ayanami, wake up!" 

Rei awoke with a gasp to see Shinji's concerned features over her face. Rubbing her eyes, she sat dup on the bed. A glance around was all that she needed to recall where she was and why. Shinji, already fully dressed, sat down in the bed, next to her. 

"Are you well? You had a nightmare." 

She blinked surprised -and relieved- for a second, then she regained her composure. 

"I am well, Ikari." 

"Oh," Shinji said. "I'm sorry, for having awakened you. I thought... you were a bit agitated, and... I was concerned...' 

Shinji's speech lost volume as he felt himself blush under Rei's intense look. Guiltily aware of the bare skin he could see through the unfastened buttons of the upper part of her shirt, Shinji quickly looked down, ashamed. 

"There is no reason for concern." she assured him calmly. 

Shinji didn't look up. She lowered her gaze as well, and she realized that he was holding her hand; when he had slipped his hands from her shoulders, one had eventually ended there. 

It was lucky for her that the lights of the sleeping quarters, designed to allow people wander around without waking up other sleepers didn't let Shinji perceive the faint blush on her cheeks. She was perfectly able, though of seeing the bright red that had come to his face. 

Stammering an excuse, Shinji got to his feet. He mumbled something about relieving Asuka and the red-faced boy made his way to the door; when he was under the doorframe, Rei spoke, stopping him. 

"Ikari?" 

Shinji turned back and looked at her, concern again in his eyes. 

"Thank you," Rei said softly. 

Shinji smiled brightly, relieved. "You're welcome, Rei," he said, walking away and closing the door. 

Rei lied down again and she rolled over her side. She looked at her hand; his had been warm and soft... Now she was strangely calm._ 'How odd,'_ she mused. 

Rei sighed and closed her blood red eyes. 

**

_ TO BE CONTINUED... _

**

Author's Notes 

And so, we have another chapter. First of all, thanks to my prereaders: Steve Vader dealt wonderfully with the characterization issues, while Inanis Machina somehow managed to correct my grammar mistakes. Thank you both! 

Remember that I had said that I would resolve the battle in this chapter? It's not like I had lied, but let's say that it's simply delayed a bit. Originally, the next chapter and this one were planned to be only one, around 4000-5000 words, but well, one isn't always own of his words. 

About this chapter, not much else to say. Of course, the psychologist is doing a Voigt-Kampf test to Asuka -a little tribute to Blade Runner, mind you?-. 

See you! 

**Athos **


	6. Arael III

"Why did you leave Shinji?" Yui asked softly, breathing on his chest. 

Gendo sighed and hugged her tightly. He kept silent, that being the only question he was afraid to answer. Not only afraid of how Yui might react, but also of what the answer might mean to himself as well. 

"Gendo?" 

He had refused to think about it in years. The only important thing in his life had been the Human Complementation Plan and Yui's memory, painful through time. Everything else seemed secondary. 

"I'm not sure," he replied vaguely. "I didn't want to..." 

"What?" 

"God knows. I..." he sighed. "He reminded me of you, Yui, and it was... painful, so painful that I couldn't stand it. It hurt and I... Besides, I wouldn't have been able to take care of him properly. " 

"You did so because he reminded you of me?" 

"That... that was one of the reasons, I guess," he nodded somberly. 

"But you wanted me back, didn't you?" 

"Yes, but..." 

"You didn't want to think of me?" 

He sighed again. Another thing he wasn't sure about. Gendo hadn't thought of another thing that his lost love in the last ten years; Yui was omnipresent in his mind. But, at the same time, he had sent Shinji with his uncle Rei had been living alone as soon as she was able. 

"I always thought... think about you." 

"That's true," she nodded, seemingly knowing when he was being sincere. "Why, then? He is a part of me." 

"I don't know," Gendo shrugged. 

"You don't know, or you don't want to tell me?" 

"Both things, I guess," he smiled apologetically. 

Yui got up and smiled, grabbing his hands and making him follow her across the warm sand. She turned and rested her back against him, with his hands encircling her waist and hers hanging from his neck loosely. 

"My poor Gendo," she whispered. "What have you done?" 

"I wanted you." 

"Would it worth the effort?" she asked. "All these years?" 

"Yes, I... I think so... Don't you?" 

"You want to know it?" 

"I..." 

"My son loves and hates with passion, Gendo," she muttered dreamily. "He might be the gentlest of the lovers and the most vengeful of the villains. And perhaps at the same time... Gendo, what have you done?" 

With her hair waving freely in the breeze Yui smelled vaguely of fruits, Gendo thought. Shinji was his sin and condemnation, and, as well, one of the keys to his hope. Or he had been. Now, Yui breathed between his arms in an infinite beach next to an impossible house. 

He hugged her a bit tighter. 

**CHAPTER 5: ARAEL   
(Part three) **

The room was still silent when Rei awoke. Alone in the dark, she let herself relax for a little while enjoying the warmth and the calmness of the awakening. She hadn't checked her clock, but she didn't need to see it to know that it was, more or less, the proper time to get up. 

Vaguely reluctant, she slipped out the sheets and grabbed the skirt of her uniform and the rest of the clothing that she had discarded a few hours ago, when she and Ikari had entered the room to sleep a bit. 

Ikari... Unit One's pilot was, especially in recent times, a soothing presence. Rei felt relieved in a way she couldn't quite explain when he was near. 

She finished putting on her clothes and walked out of the room, rubbing her eyes. It wasn't time to think of that, as the Angel was still hanging menacingly over them. The blue haired pilot headed to the dressing room to get her plugsuit, concentrating on her upcoming task. 

Still... It had been nice that Ikari hadn't appeared in her nightmare. 

Rei smiled. 

***

To say that Fuyutsuki was stunned was probably an exaggeration. He would be stunned, once the amazement he was feeling disappeared. He ordered the papers in front of him, while trying to bring his thoughts back to order. He coughed. 

"I was," he began, looking at the crew in the meeting room, "expecting a report about the Dummy Plug system, not this... Ah, Doctor Akagi?" 

"Yes, sir?" Ritsuko nodded innocently. 

"Would you care to explain?" 

"Well, sir, Dummy Plug's latest versions have revealed a growing unstably that made me think that it wouldn't be safe be safe to hazard its use once more, so..." 

"And the older versions? No, wait, I remember what happened. Forget it." 

Ritsuko nodded while Maya and several medical officers tried to appear as small as possible in their seats. 

"Of course, I can understand it, but... hypnosis?" 

"It might be a solution, sir." 

"Care to enlighten me?" 

"Yes, sir," she shrugged, getting up. "Magi's projection - here you have it, although I doubt you want details," she began, pointing to a pack of papers. Fuyutsuki just waved away. "Ah... they show us that the Angel doesn't have a particularly strong AT Field." 

"Then why didn't the positron rifle beat it?" 

"It was too much far, sir. Aaanyway," she continued, "I doubt that the Angel has any other means of attack other than its mental intrusion." 

"Why?" 

"Well, it was a comment from Maya," she smiled. "If the Angel had other methods of attack, it would have attacked already." 

Maya blushed and looked down, embarrassed. Fuyutsuki chuckled a bit and nodded. "Let's suppose you're right, Doctor Akagi. Please continue." 

"Of course. As far as we know, the Angel invades the mind of the pilot, causing a trauma that is associated with the memory functions. Ayanami and Ikari aren't likely to fare any better against that attack then Sohryu did, I suppose. However, a careful preparation through clinical hypnosis might provide the pilot with a certain protection." 

"How?" 

One of the medics got up, uncertain. Ritsuko nodded to him. "Doctor Ueda, if you please." 

The old man seemed unsure. The main psychiatrist of Nerv never had to speak to the commander before that. His work was mainly to supervise the psychiatric services of the infirmary and, from time to time, talk with the pilots. But he never had talked directly with the Commander. He was very nervous, although it was lucky that the Commander was no longer Ikari. 

"Theoretically," he said slowly, carefully, "it might be possible to make a subject blockade temporally certain areas of his mind through a process of hypnosis. But how much it would stand..." 

"Could you perform it?" 

"Possibly, but I'm not sure..." 

"And there would be any consequences for the pilots?" 

The medicant sighed tiredly. "Certainly not from the therapy, but I don't know if... I mean, in the battle..." 

"Of course, Doctor. Don't worry about that. Well, if this is what we have... Doctor Akagi, Lieutenant Ibuki, I want three models of the battle, following this scenario with each Child on my desk in two hours. Doctor, begin to design your treatment. You and your team have got assigned all the resources you might need. Just ask." 

"I only need an adequate bibliography and some access to the Magi, I suppose," he shrugged. 

"Well. Let's begin," Fuyutsuki said, getting up. 

The crew did the same and began to walk out of the meeting room chatting nervously. 

"A word with you, Doctor Akagi?" 

Ritsuko was about to exit, but Fuyutsuki's words stopped her. She nodded and whispered instructions to Maya. She waited until the Commander and she were alone. 

"Ritsuko," Fuyutsuki said slowly. "Are you sure?" 

"We have nothing else." 

***

Rei looked outside from the windows that appeared in the walls of her Entry Plug. It seemed that something had changed, as the technicians that before were waiting idly around the launching gates and the Command Center were now working in the Magi stations. She moved a bit in her seat, trying to get comfortable. 

She was able to see, as well, the garish figure of Unit Two's pilot, leant against a guardrail and staring at her red mecha. Sohryu seemed furious, Rei thought. Frustrated, impatient, tipping with her fingers on the metallic band, the redhead had been there a good hour and a half before her shift was to begin. 

Rei was also a bit frustrated. She wanted to fight the Angel and stop waiting, for the free time she had became free time to think. She was becoming accustomed to the bitter grip in her lower stomach, and nightmares like the one she'd just got a few hours ago were worryingly increasing. 

The war would end someday, when all the Angels were defeated. And when that day arrived, Rei, who had spent all her life in the core of Nerv would be an useless item. Rei softly caressed the controls of her Unit. It was all she'd ever had; the only thing that ever had given a sense to her life. 

Rei wasn't sure about what she was supposed to do after the end of the War. The new Commander was elusive about the matter, and the old was comatose. The man who had directed and programmed her life from the same moment of her birth wasn't anything more than a vegetable. Ikari once had an scenario and she had been the essential part of it. She had been needed, then. 

"Rei?" 

Then again, she always had been replaceable. Another Rei could be brought back again and again, for all time. It wasn't herself what the commander had needed; only her body, her genetic background that Ikari needed to bring his wife back. 

"Rei?" 

Damn him. 

"Rei!" 

"Yes?" she asked softly. 

"Its time to change shifts, Rei," Maya said sweetly. "Go eat something." 

"Yes, ma'am." 

After a quick shower -she disliked the LCL's taste in her mouth, especially if she were about to eat- she headed for the dining room of the cafe. She wasn't particularly hungry, but a brief meal would be welcomed. Something hot, she thought, would comfort her a bit. 

She crossed with several technicians as she entered the cafe. Katsuragi had organized two different shifts, so that the technicians who weren't resting were at the cafeteria. A pretty large queue of them was waiting to be served; still, she didn't need to wait, as everybody let her to step before them. 

Rei looked around. Again, all the attention she received was due to the fact she was the First Child, not just Ayanami. She got a bowl of ramen and sat down alone in a table, knowing that no one would bother her; she would eat alone. As always. 

"May I sit down?" 

Rei looked up to find the sea blue eyes of the Third Child. She studied him for a second before giving him a little nod. The young pilot grabbed awkwardly the chair and sat down besides Rei. 

"Did... did you sleep well?" he asked slowly. 

"What?" she said confused. 

"I mean..." he swallowed, "After the nightmare you had..." 

"Yes, I did," she said, blushing a bit. 

Shinji always managed to calm her down. All the niggling thoughts that had been crossing her mind all the day suddenly vanished to be replaced by a soft quietness; Rei didn't quite understand her reactions when she was near him. She was confused. 

"I'm glad," he said, paying attention to his food. 

Rei studied him curiously while he was looking down. He seemed uneasy, as if something was bothering him, Rei decided. She didn't know what could be worrying Shinji, although it might -she thought- be related to his father. Or perhaps not, as she really didn't know him. 

Rei found herself growing more and more uneasy as she saw the somber expression in Ikari's face. 

"Ikari," she heard herself asking softly. 

The brown haired pilot looked up from his bowl, and Rei stared at him. Ikari gulped and blushed under the careful stare of Rei. She really wished to say something, but she didn't find the words, nor did she know what she wanted to say. She just gazed at him, without adding anything else for a long time. Finally, trying to fill the uneasy silence, he began to talk awkwardly. 

"You know," he said, resting his chin on his arms. "I often wish that I wasn't an Eva pilot but, sometimes..." 

"What?" 

"Sometimes... sometimes I understand what Asuka means when she says that she wants to fight... Aren't you tired of waiting? For the Angel, I mean." 

"Yes," Rei said, blinking surprised. 

The young boy sighed, relieved by the tiny change in Rei's attitude. 

"We're saving Mankind..." Shinji added. Rei realized that he was thinking out loud. "I suppose I should feel proud, but it's not like that." 

"No?" 

"Do you enjoy being a pilot?" 

"I..." Rei murmured. "I don't know. It's my duty," she said, looking down, "for everyone." 

"You told me that once," he remembered, smiling a bit. "I guess that it's a good way to see it." 

Rei nodded slightly. It was what she'd told him before the battle with the Fifth Angel, she could remember it as well. The blue haired girl recalled another thing. 

She smiled warmly at him. 

***

Misato frowned as she looked at the screen. Together with the bright image of the Angel appeared the face of an officer of the United Nations. 

"It's no use, Major Katsuragi," the military was saying with a heavy accent. "If Nerv doesn't do anything, we'll act." 

"We're still studying the menace, Colonel," she said dryly. 

"Studying? For two days? No, ma'am. We cannot stand for such a Damocles' sword hanging over us. The launching of the N2 warheads is scheduled in three hours, and unless Nerv shows us a real, convincing battle plan, we'll go ahead with our attack." 

"The fight against the Angels is an exclusive responsibility of Nerv," Misato reminded him. 

She hated the officers of the UN Army. Arrogant even in defeat, they had never recognized that Nerv was the only way to defeat the Angels, considering the Evangelion program as a lesser evil. Although she knew that, in a certain way, the Evangelions were hiding too much things for the military be at ease with them, they were winning the war. 

She was winning the war, damn it! 

"A responsibility given by the Security Council, ma'am. As easy comes, easy goes." 

"Yes?" 

"Of course," he smirked disagreeably, "we'll keep you in touch." 

"How considerate." 

"Thank you. Now, Major Katsuragi, I have a battle to plan. See you." 

The screen went blank. Misato still kept her angry face for a second, and then she turned to the Commander and smiled. 

"They're going to do it, sir." 

"Perfect," Fuyutsuki nodded. "Follow the strike carefully, and be ready to attack the Angel as soon as it descents." 

"If it descents," she shrugged. 

"Of course," Fuyutsuki conceded. "But what else might we do? We cannot launch the units to the space." 

"Let's hope that the strike itches him enough to start moving," Misato yawned. "I think that I'm going to get a few hours of sleep before all begins." 

Fuyutsuki nodded, and the purple haired woman left the Command Center. It had been her idea to let the UN to attack the Angel. At any rate, Nerv would have ended doing the same, so why not let the army work a little? 

If the Angel was destroyed it would be a good thing, since the plan they were developing was far from perfect. If not, well, they would be waiting for it. However, Fuyutsuki would have liked to have more options available. 

A soft whistle caught his attention, and he turned to find that Ritsuko was standing behind him, just like he used to be behind Gendo. He chuckled quietly while the blonde scientist smiled amused. 

"Yes?" he finally said. 

"I've got the simulation you asked for before, sir," she smiled, handling to him three folders. 

Fuyutsuki grabbed them and gave the reports inside a quick peek. They were the Magi opinion about which pilot should be used to perform Ritsuko's plan. He didn't feel like reading them all at that moment, so he looked questioningly at her. 

"So?" 

"Sohryu." 

"Sohryu?" 

She giggled. "I think that Ueda is a bit scared of Ayanami, so he discarded her almost instantly. So, between Ikari and her, Magi says that Sohryu is the best choice, properly handled." 

"Hm. Properly handled? That girl is like a hurricane. I doubt that anybody might handle her." 

"If she thinks that she's going to be able to repay the Angel," shrugged Ritsuko, "she will do it." 

"Poor Angel, then. OK, you've got permission to proceed. Get Sohryu out of there and begin to prepare her. Debrief Katsuragi about that, so she's able to prepare the battle plan. I think you'll get to talk to her before she falls asleep," he chuckled. 

"So I hope," Ritsuko smiled. "I have to talk to Maya; I'll tell you later how's going everything." 

"Good." 

***

Rei didn't understand why such a small thing as a smile could disturb Shinji so deeply. His face had turned on a bright red and he stammered several things that Rei couldn't quite discern. A bit worried, she regained her neutral expression when the speakers of the room required the presence of both pilots at the Command Center. 

"We must go," she said, brushing past him. 

She wasn't facing Shinji, so she couldn't see how he sighed deeply before closing his mouth and follow her. 

"Do you think that the Angel has arrived?" he asked Rei once he was next to her. 

"No." 

"Why?" he said puzzled, struck by the blunt statement of Rei's. 

Rei sighed. "Because it is not a general alert." 

"Oh." 

They walked together in silent for a time. Rei realized that, three or four times, Ikari had tried to say something. He had stopped himself all the times, though, so she didn't ask him what he wanted to tell her. 

When they entered the Command Center they discovered that the people had ceased their vigil to begin working again. Asuka was talking with Ritsuko and Misato, seemingly not very convinced by the explanation she was receiving. 

Misato waved to them. "Just a moment and I'll be with you two, couple," she said winking an eye. 

Rei just nodded. After Misato ended her conversation with Asuka she turned towards the two remaining pilots and sighed. 

"Here we go, boys," she said tiredly. "In a few hours, the UN will drop several N2 mines against the Angel. If the Angel does anything, like, try to descent, we'll go for it. Asuka's going to act as a spearhead, while both of you will remain as a backup." 

"Yes, ma'am," Rei said softly. 

"But Misato... Won't it happen again the same?" Shinji asked worried. 

"I hope not. Besides, Asuka's going to be prepared for it... Which reminds me. As of this moment neither of you are to contact Unit Two by radio. Asuka needs complete silence while she's in the Eva." 

"Why?" 

"It would be complicated to explain, Shinji. Just trust me, will you?" 

Rei gazed how Shinji nodded somberly. He was worried by the Second Child's welfare, she supposed. After all, she had been badly injured in the first skirmish. It was a natural thing that he was preoccupied. 

Before they split to head to each one's unit, Rei wondered for a second if he would have been so worried had she been the one to attack. She found herself hoping so, although she'd not have been able to tell why. 

***

Asuka sighed and tried to relax while the LCL rose above her head. Hypnosis. Of all the stupid things that ever happened to occur to Misato and Ritsuko, that one surely would win a prize. Why simply they didn't let her to slay the Angel? Then again, although she'd never admit it, she was grateful that they'd found a way to evade the mind attack of the white being. She didn't need to remember her mother's death so vividly again. 

"Asuka?" she heard through the speakers. 

"Shinji?" she asked back. 

"Yes, ummm... Just before this goes silent... Be careful." 

"The Angel's the one who needs to be careful, Shinji," she laughed. "Not me." 

"Sure, Asuka," Shinji smiled. "Good luck." 

"Thank you, Third," she replied, softening her tone. "See you later." 

"See you." 

Just before Shinji cut the channel, a small sign -reading 'restricted channel'- appeared in her console. 'Well, here we go!' she thought for herself. 

"Miss Sohryu?" 

***

"What's he doing?" Misato asked, looking at the old man speaking quietly through the microphone. 

"Sedating her," Ritsuko replied, looking up from her station. "This isn't like in a magic show, where people fall in a trance in seconds. He needs to make Asuka relax enough to begin the hypnotic procedure. That's why all the therapists have a so monotone voice." 

It was true, Misato noticed. While his voice wasn't particularly garish, he had lowered it to a soft, repetitive murmur while he read the first of a huge amount of paper's pieces on his desk. From time to time, the redheaded answered with a sharp affirmative, although her tone began to fall with the passage of time. 

"And how many time is this going to endure?" 

"Oh, around two hours, more or less." 

"So much?!" 

"I told you, this isn't a Copperfield show," Ritsuko shrugged. "It takes its time." 

"I see," Misato replied, leaning back on her chair. "I never thought that Asuka would accept so quickly." 

"Hidden and twisted are the paths of vengeance, Misato. Asuka considers it as a personal thing." 

"I guess. Do you want a cup of coffee?" 

"Sure, thank you." 

***

Asuka was about falling asleep. She felt like if she was floating in a vast, dim pool of warm water, hearing in the background the quiet murmur of the psychiatrist. She was, for the first time in many, many years, absolutely in peace. 

She wished to sleep, and with a final refrain of the weaving voice she closed her eyes, falling in a dark, yet peaceful realm and forgetting everything she thought she knew. 

***

Indifferent to everything, the Angel just bided its time, enjoying -if an Angel could enjoy- a privileged view of Earth. If it whad been gazing downward, it would have seen the vast Pacific Ocean, the populated China and Japan, the Yellow Sea and what remained of the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka; but it stood there, blind to anything else than the call of the white being beneath Tokyo Three. 

The time had arrived. 

***

Far from Tokyo 3, in one of the bases occupied by the international armed forces of the United Nations, ten N2 warheads were being aimed at the floating Angel. Enough firepower to wipe away a whole nation from the face of the Earth was going to be launched against a target not bigger than a block of apartments. 

The Russian Colonel stared at his screen, where the last of the ten red signals has finally turned to an aseptic green which showed that the last of the missiles had finally locked its target. 

He sighed. 

"Open fire." 

***

Only three of the ten white streams that left Kamchatka hit their objective, already falling from its high observatory. The only thing that the satellites revealed was the orange pattern of the AT Field, effectively shielding the Angel from the vast destructive power of the N2 warheads. 

At the Geofront, there wasn't a great deal of surprise. They knew the power of an AT Field, as they trusted in another one to defeat the Angel's. In a religious silence, the technicians waited for the arrival of the Angel, not daring to say anything in an effort to avoid bothering the dormant pilot of Unit Two. 

Shinji was a bit worried. Asuka had spent the last twenty minutes with her eyes closed, only with the tiny rise of her chest as signal she was alive. Misato had remembered him strictly not to talk to her or to otherwise distract her. He hadn't even talked to Rei, although he thought that the albino wouldn't talk to him if Misato had told them not to. He trusted the purple haired woman, but he wasn't sure if Asuka would be able to defeat the Angel without suffering the same fate as last time. He didn't want her to go through the same ordeal; the memory of Asuka's screams still send a chill down his spine. 

He changed his view to the main screen of his entry plug, which was showing the descent of the Angel to the Earth. At the moment, it only showed a more or less opaque, bright ball, as the air of the atmosphere brushed past the AT Field that surrounded the Angel. 

Everybody stood quiet while the Angel descending. The Magi had already set the landing point in a valley a hundred kilometers away from Tokyo 3, and Misato had decided that Asuka wouldn't be launched until the Angel was near them. 

The light ball that surrounded the Angel began to diminish as it slowed its speed of descent. Finally, the Angel could be seen while it fell freely to the ground. It gave the impression that it would collide with the land. 

Then it opened its white wings, and everybody in the Command Center stared in awe at it. They were massive, yet delicate, with a soft pattern of bright rays that resembled to a spider web. Two pairs of impossible wings hang from the small body of the Angel, all of it made of bright light. Beautiful and terrible as only a God's messenger might be, the Fifteenth Angel began to cross the skies softly, taking impulse only from time to time. 

The Magi went frantic giving the new predictions of course and destinations, but Misato didn't need to look at them to know where it was going. She nodded at the old doctor, and he sighed and murmured something softy to Unit Two's pilot. 

Asuka blinked and looked at the spear her Unit was holding with clouded eyes. Shinji couldn't help but shudder when he saw them: Asuka's gaze seemed empty, void; more lifeless that Rei's eyes had ever looked. By reflex he looked at Unit Zero's pilot, and he saw surprised that Rei was frowning. 

The noise of Unit Two's launching pad prevented him from thinking anymore in that. The red Evangelion was going alone to face the Angel of Birds. 

***

She didn't remember her name, or even who she was. 

She didn't remember why she was there. 

She didn't remember anything. 

The young girl looked unsure outside from her Evangelion, and she saw it. A few kilometers away, the white being was slowly approaching the city. She pushed a button, and she smiled with the slightest of the smiles as she heard the spinning sound of the sonic edge. 

She knew only that it was her duty to defeat that cruel creation of the Gods. And, for some reason unknown to the girl, it was a soothing thought. She didn't need anything else than that enemy and a weapon to defeat it. 

Suddenly, a bright ray of light came from the creature and hit her unit straight on. 

The orange liquid she was submerged in was cold, she remembered, and it had a disagreeable taste. She couldn't get rid of the thought, but iit didn't matter. In a few seconds she would reach it, and then it would be erased from the face of Earth. The girl without name smiled as she turned to face her enemy, with a strange joy in her heart. 

She charged against the Angel across the rainy fields of the city. 

In the middle of the ray of light she arrived upon the Angel and stabbed it with the spear. The AT Field shone around the head of her spear, preventing it from reaching the body of the bird-like being, but the momentum that had carried the red mecha made it crash against the Angel. Both fell to the ground in a mix of red and pearly white parts. 

Asuka fought desperately to grasp onto her spear while the Angel pushed and bit her Unit, without breaking through the red armor. With a yell of victory, Asuka finally managed to grab the spear and lifted it over her head to strike with all the force that her Unit was capable of at the red core that the Angel had where its head would be. 

Suddenly, the Angel's legs grabbed her by the shoulders and the arms and carried Unit Two away with it, taking off and flying several dozen of meters before releasing it. 

Shinji watched worriedly as the red unit landed with a loud crash. Asuka screamed in pain at the fall when the Angel, suspended over her launched a ray of light that blinded Shinji for a second; then Asuka's yells raised in volume. The redheaded began to scream in German, and Shinji, who didn't speak a word in that language, recognized notwithstanding what she was saying. It was the same as what she'd screamed the last time. 

"Asuka!" he yelled. "Misato, we have to help her!" 

"Shinji! Rei! Get ready to be launched! Rescue Asuka and..." 

The quick orders of Misato ceased when Unit Two got up again and jumped, making the Angel fall with it. This time, the edge of the spear was aiming at the S2 organ of the Angel, and when both collided, the combined weight of the Angel and the Eva made it penetrate the AT field and break the bright red sphere into two pieces. 

The resulting explosion made the images in the screens vanish for a second. 

"Asuka!" 

"Mama... Bist du das?" Asuka babbled from her fallen Unit. 

Shinji saw in the screen as he was being launched that the red Eva hadn't suffered too much damage in the explosion. 

"Asuka!" he repeated, frantic. 

"Shinji!" she said, this time understanding him. "Where am I? What the hell I'm doing here?" 

"Asuka, wait!" Shinji sighed relieved. "I'm coming for you." 

***

Shinji, Rei and Misato were waiting outside of the hospital room where Asuka was standing under observation. The doctors had insisted that she needed to be checked, although she seemed to be fine, just a little confused. 

The old psychiatrist that had supervised her all the time walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Shinji and Misato jumped towards him, while Rei just got up politely. 

"How's she?" Misato asked. 

"Surprisingly good," the medicant smiled, obviously relieved. "She has recovered from the battle very quickly, and she's even better than before, I daresay." 

"Can we see her?" Shinji asked softly. 

"No." 

"Why?" Misato said menacingly. 

"Because, she's going to change her clothes. She's going home. Now, if you let me, I have some things to attend," he smiled, leaving them alone. 

Misato sighed relieved. 

"Will you come with us, Rei? Shinji's going to prepare a dinner to celebrate Asuka's victory," she asked to the blue haired girl. 

"Am I?" Shinji echoed surprised. 

"Of course you are, unless you want me or Asuka to make it. What do you say, Rei?" 

While Shinji quickly muttered his agreement, Rei considered it for a second. 

"I would be grateful," she nodded softly, sparing a glance to Shinji. 

"You come? Great, the more the merrier!" Misato cheered. "I'm going to talk later with Ritsuko and Maya, and we'll see if we can set a party, and..." 

Asuka walked out of the room, already dressed in her school uniform. 

"A party?" she asked, grinning. "I hope that it's one in my honor." 

"Asuka!" Misato said, hugging her. "I was so worried!" 

"Why? It never had a chance." 

Shinji couldn't help but laugh, and Asuka finally looked at him. "What are you laughing at, stupid?" 

"Nothing," he smiled. "Nothing." 

Misato pushed vigorously the three teenagers along the corridor, awashed by relief. 

"Let's go home!" 

***

Fuyutsuki stared at the crater in the suburbs of Tokyo 3, while several Nerv's teams were working on the remains of the Angel. Another one had fallen. Only two Angels left, and the Human Complementation Plan would be able to begin, according to the Scrolls. 

It was now a matter of momentum, he thought. Just keep doing the same things, and for the same reasons, although soon everything would change. The world was changing, though he did not know if it was for better or for worse. 

He sighed. 

+++ 

**_Author's Notes _**

It was about time that I updated my ongoing fics. In first place, thanks go to Inanis Machina for his help with the grammar of the fic, and as well to Steve Vader for his suggestions, specially regarding Rei's characterization. 

I did some research about clinical hypnosis to write the scene, although I'm not sure that such an amnesia might be inducted through an hypnotic treatment. If it's not, please accept is as one more of Eva's strange things. Nobody complained about the positron rifle, after all ^^'' 

After the hiatus of the previous chapter, the story keeps focusing on Rei. I've tried to avoid Shinji as the protagonist, as he has seen too many times, and it's something almost automatically in a Eva fic. 

I hope that Gendo's reflexions don't cloud too much the story. It's an opportunity to focus on one of the adults without deviating the gaze from the Children. Ah, and by the way, Asuka's words in German means 'Mama... is that you?' 

Until the next chapter - An Unforeseen Scenario, Chapter 6: Just Shinji. 

See you! 

** Athos **


End file.
